Draco Malfoy: The Amazing Bouncing Ferret
by Karen Weasley
Summary: Did you laugh when Draco was turned into a ferret in Goblet of Fire? Maybe you should see it from his perspective and see if you laugh this time... Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition


**Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition round 5. Our challenge this round was for the whole team to write about the same character during their years at school. My team chose Draco Malfoy, and I was responsible for writing about year 4. My optional prompts were: (** word) plethora, (phrase) return the favor, and (word) ridiculous. **Enjoy!**

 _ **Draco Malfoy: The Amazing Bouncing Ferret**_

It was no secret that Draco Malfoy despised anything and everything to do with Harry Potter. He wasn't quite sure when he had started hating him or why exactly; maybe it was because Potter was handed everything when he deserved nothing, or maybe it was because he had caused the downfall of Draco's family when he destroyed the Dark Lord, or perhaps it was simply because Potter did not seem to understand who the right and wrong sorts of wizards were, hanging out with that Blood Traitor Weasley and that filthy mudblood Granger.

It certainly wasn't because Potter had blown him off at the age of eleven – of course it wasn't because of that! Draco didn't need the likes of Saint Potter as his friend.

Regardless of the reason why, Draco could not help the feeling of intense dislike that bubbled up inside him every single time he laid eyes on that stupid scar head, and he never missed an opportunity to put that feeling into words…today was no exception.

Draco had seen the paper, and the article by Rita Skeeter featuring Weasley's parents had simply made his day. He reveled in the knowledge that at least someone else saw them for the worthless blood traitors they were, and his first thought was how much fun it would be to rub the article in Potter and Weasley's faces.

When he had arrived in the Entrance Hall to find a plethora of other students heading in for dinner and spotted both Potter and Weasley in the middle of the throng, he knew he had the perfect opportunity.

Calling out to Weasley, Draco began reading the article as loudly as possible until every eye in the hall was on him. He watched with glee as Weasley's face got redder and redder with every word until he was positively fuming by the end of the article. To his even greater delight, Potter stepped in to defend his friend.

"Shut up, Malfoy!"

"Oh yeah, you're close with them aren't you Potter? Spend holidays there and everything – so tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?"

Potter seized the backs of Weasley's robes to keep him from attacking and snarled back at Draco. "You know your mother, Malfoy, that expression she's got like she's got dung under her nose, does she always look like that, or is it just because you were with her?"

He had hit a nerve. No one, absolutely NO ONE insulted Draco's mother and expected to get away with it. "Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter!" Draco hissed.

"Keep your fat mouth shut then!" Potter snapped back.

Draco was now the one fuming as Potter turned to walk away. How dare he?! How dare he simply walk away like it was nothing?! Draco had had it with Potter always coming away with the upper hand, plus he had insulted the one person Draco loved more than anyone else, and that act could not go unpunished.

Pulling out his wand, Draco took careful aim and muttered to himself, "Time to return the favor, Potter," before he fired a curse.

It missed and went straight over Potter's shoulder. Draco growled in frustration and made to fire the curse again, but…

"Oh no you don't laddie!" a voice roared over the crowd, and the next thing Draco knew he was quivering on the ground: transformed into a pure white ferret.

For a moment, no one moved or said a word as Professor Moody limped towards him and Potter. Draco looked desperately up at Crabbe and Goyle, silently begging one of them to save him.

"Leave it!" Moody called as Goyle bent to pick him up. "I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back is turned!" he continued, but now he had pointed his wand at Draco again.

Draco felt himself rising into the air and began to panic. He was helpless without his wand, and no one in the crowd seemed to be willing to take pity on him. Suddenly, he felt himself drop and smack hard off the marble floor beneath him.

"Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do!" Moody continued, and with each word, he slammed Draco harder off the floor.

Draco began to scream in pain and desperation, although the only thing that came out was a high pitched squeak that meant nothing to human ears. Why was no one helping him? He knew he wasn't all that popular, but he thought that someone would have said something by now.

"Never do that again!" Moody finished angrily, smacking Draco even harder off the floor.

"Professor Moody!" another voice shouted from the top of the stairs. Draco's eyes flashed desperately to the new comer, and was relieved to see Professor McGonagall. "Wh-what are you doing?" she asked.

"Teaching."

"Is that a student?" she cried in shock.

"Yep."

"NO!" she screamed and ran down the stairs turning Draco back into a human with a flick of her wand.

Draco lay crumpled on the floor, and he knew his face would be bright red from embarrassment and pain, so he kept his head down even as McGonagall lectured Moody for the improper use of magic on a student. He couldn't stop himself from thinking bitterly that if it had been Potter that had been turned into a ferret, she would have been much more furious and forceful. Maybe someone else would have helped if it had been Potter as well…people always seemed to be willing to help him, after all.

Draco only moved again when Moody yanked him to his feet, and he winced at the pain that shot through his body from being smashed against the floor. He couldn't help the whisper that escaped more from habit than anything, "My father will hear about this…"

"Oh yeah?" Moody whispered back darkly. "Well, I know your father from old, boy. You tell him Mad-Eye is keeping a close watch on his son, you tell him that from me. Now, your head of house would be Snape?"

"Yes," Draco replied bitterly, thinking Snape probably wouldn't do much to help his case at this point…the damage had already been done.

"Another old friend. Let's go, you!" Moody began to drag him towards the dungeons, but not quickly enough.

Even as they left the hall, Draco could hear the sounds of the crowd beginning to talk about what they had just witnessed, and the pain now seemed sharper as pangs of embarrassment and anger at being talked about joined the mix. As they descended the stairs, Draco could swear he even heard some people beginning to laugh.

Surely they didn't think it was funny that he had been hurt? Moody could have killed him with one wrong landing! Not that anyone cared, apparently. In that moment, Draco realized the real reason he hated Harry Potter so much.

If it had been Potter made to look ridiculous in front of the entire school, everyone would have immediately risen to his defense and cursed Moody for daring to hurt the Boy Who Lived. But because it had been he, Draco, that had been humiliated, no one cared at all…they even found it amusing.

Draco didn't hate Potter because he was famous or because he got everything without trying; Draco hated Potter because everyone cared about Potter, and no one cared about Draco.

As Moody continued to drag him towards the potions classroom, ignoring his continued winces of pain, Draco truly wondered if anyone would ever give a damn what happened to him.


End file.
